TEXAS — As quickly as data centers are popping up in Texas, candidates from both parties are taking notice.

“Data centers are something that is very alarming concern to a lot of Texans, including myself,” said Nate Sheets, the Republican candidate for Texas agriculture commissioner.

Sheets said he wants data center development to be smart but also competitive with foreign nations to ensure national security. Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Clayton Tucker has called for a moratorium on the building of data centers to protect natural resources.

“These data centers, they are water hogs, and we are building them in the dumbest places possible,” said Tucker.

Texas is the fastest-growing market for data centers with over 330 existing data centers and over 245 planned. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico says the issue with data centers speaks to the heart of his campaign.

“All these decisions are being made by a handful of billionaires who are running for-profit corporations. There is no public private partnership, and that, back to the data center issue, that’s what we’re seeing across the state,” he said.

Talarico wants data centers to pay for their own energy use and infrastructure needs as well as create union jobs. His opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, hasn’t spoke on data centers. Spectrum News reached out to him to ask and haven’t heard back.

In her campaign against Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, wants a pause on data center construction until regulatory bills can be passed.

Patrick hasn’t weighed in on the issue, but he did charge senators with studying data center growth framework and looking at the sales tax exemption given to data centers to make sure Texans are benefiting from the investment. Goodwin wants a special session to address the issues sooner rather than later.

“The people living next to these proposed projects too often feel like they’re the last to know and the last to be consulted. They deserve better. They deserve transparency. They deserve a seat at the table. And they deserve elected leaders who are willing to listen before making decisions that can’t be undone,” said Goodwin.

Gov. Greg Abbott has released suggested regulations for data centers, which lawmakers will address in the upcoming legislative session.